Gah. I'm still in a bad mood this morning because last night two different shows were ruined for me by common cliches of modern writing.
I hate investing time in fiction only to have it spoiled by cheesy, over-used writing techniques. Curse you, George Martin, for encouraging writers to think that multiple points of view are cool. Curse you, 'Save the Cat!' for convincing writers that all stories follow the same "beat-sheet."
My wife is taking classes on screen writing and she is currently working on an ensemble script that will not have a happy ending.
Thank you! I think she will do well. She's learning just how difficult it is as the instructor points out small idiosyncrasies about her script that could have a large impact on the story. Her favorite movie is Crash, but now I have a new movie to show her. I don't think either of us have watched The Expanse.
@bbbourq I wish her the best. Ensemble scripts are some of the toughest to pull off successfully.
I think it can be done well. For instance in The Expanse it works because all the different POVs are focused on the same problem. That gives the narrative cohesion and focus.
But it's awful when you use points of view to create fake tension. Is character X dead? Instead of telling you, I'm going to ramble on about character Y. Refusing to tell your story is not dramatic tension.